Metamorphosis
by Nakora-chan
Summary: For two years, Tanabata ruled the music industry only to mysteriously transfer before Akatsuki Records was charged with kidnapping. A blonde suddenly transfers into Sasuke’s class, and Kyuubi takes the music world by storm. Band!AU Sasu x fem!Naru
1. Prologue

**Title**: Metamorphosis  
**Author**: Nakora-chan  
**Series**: Naruto  
**Rating**: T  
**Pairings**: Sasuke x fem!Naruto  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or any songs whose lyrics are used in this fanfiction.  
**Summary**: For two years, the group Tanabata ruled the music industry only to mysteriously transfer before their label Akatsuki Records was charged with kidnapping and extortion. A blonde suddenly transfers into Sasuke's class, and Kyuubi takes the music world by storm.  
**Warnings**: fem!Naruto, genderbender  
**Notes**: A lot of band!AUs seem to be written in a way that does not describe the surroundings of the plot, so whenever I read them, I admit that the stories are great but I have to tell my brain that this music industry doesn't resemble the music industry of Japan, from which the series Naruto comes. So I have endeavored to use all my knowledge of the Japanese music industry within this fanfiction. If there are any questions or any corrections needing to be made, please say so in a review. For this fanfiction, I am willing to answer reviews every chapter.

* * *

_Prologue_

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke looked up at the large television screen overlooking Tokyo Square and mentally sneered. On the big screen was a promotional video for Tanabata's most recent single, E-kari, pronounced Hikari, which had reached #2 on Oricon Charts on the first day.

"You don't know about Tanabata, Mio-chan?"

"Nope, but this is a pretty good song."

"You think so too? This is Tanabata's sixth single, and all their other singles were in top 5 on the music charts. I had to preorder this one three months ago!"

"When did this come out?"

"On Tanabata!"

"Really? That's so cool!"

Shrugging his book bag higher up his shoulder, he felt the urge to throw up. Fangirls always sickened him, and he shuddered at the mere proximity.

He took a second look at the promotional video. He knew about Tanabata; he heard the rumors and more. Tanabata, a duo who took the music industry by storm two years ago with their melodic lyrics and harmonizing instrumentals, recently transferred over to Konoha Alliance, his family's company's parent company. The transfer was kept under wraps for the time, though he had no idea why.

Maybe, he thought, everything factored into just who were the members of the famous Tanabata. Even though Tanabata's singles sold extremely well, Akatsuki Records, Tanabata's former music label, never promoted Tanabata much, which left critics in skepticism and shock. Ever since Tanabata's debut two years ago, the duo have never shown up in a live, television interview, or anything that revealed just who they were. Even their promotional videos lacked a image of their faces.

Even though their songs were used in commercials, anime, dramas, and other televised media, Tanabata never actually introduced themselves to the publicly. For that, Sasuke scoffed at the band despite reluctantly admitting that the duo were actually musical geniuses.

Mentally sighing, he walked away from the big screen, wondering what homework he needed to finish.

"_Breaking News! We have just been informed of criminal charges brought up against key executives of Akatsuki Records, one of the smallest yet top music labels in Japan. According to reports, these charges were sealed and were only opened today after the official transfer of the duo Tanabata to Konoha Alliance. These charges include kidnapping, larceny, embezzlement, and assault. Though it has not been confirmed by officials, employees of Akatsuki Records are charged with accessory of the mentioned charges. We hope to bring you more news in a later report…"_

* * *

"Aniki! What's going on?"

Itachi looked up from the stacks of paperwork, relieved to have an excuse to get away. He had absolutely no idea what Sasuke was thinking about, so clearly he could not answer the question. Leaning back into his oh-so-comfortable chair, he asked, "What's wrong, Sasuke?"

In his school uniform, Sasuke marched up with a newspaper in hand and slammed it on the desk.

Taking the newspaper, he calmly read the headline. "TANABATA BRINGS UP CHARGES AGAINST AKATSUKI RECORDS." That wasn't surprising considering just what Akatsuki Records had done to Tanabata. He was among the select few who knew the entire situation, and besides, he already knew who the members of Tanabata were. There was another headline underneath the first: "TANABATA TRANSFERS TO KONOHA ALLIANCE".

His fingers rubbing his temples, Itachi calmly repeated, "What is wrong, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked miffed. "Why is this happening?"

"Tanabata was actually supposed to be under the Konoha Alliance label; Tsunade-sama herself scouted Tanabata before Akatsuki Records kidnapped the members of Tanabata."

"What?"

Itachi sighed. This was going to be a lengthy affair. Giving Sasuke a pointed look, he knew that his otouto hadn't read very thoroughly; Sasuke had probably been too worried about how this would affect Konoha Alliance and their family's company. He gathered himself, and started explaining, "Akatsuki Records apparently kidnapped the members of Tanabata after Tsunade-sama scouted them; the members were held in the company's basement for two years. They were coerced into creating their six singles during that time, and without informing them, Akatsuki Records produced those singles. Akatsuki cut off all contact on Tanabata's end, so they had no idea if their message was heard."

His brother frowned, his brows furrowing in confusion. "Message?"

Raising an eyebrow, he scanned Sasuke's face for any sign of comprehension, and when he found none, he leaned back into his chair and berated himself for thinking that Sasuke would actually pay attention to Tanabata. He closed his eyes as he replied, "Figure it out yourself."

"What is that supposed to mean, aniki?"

"Tsunade-sama called a press conference in a few days, and you can come if you want." He didn't want to say anymore. He already told Sasuke more than what the press knew, and that in itself was a hazard.

Sasuke scowled. For a while, a silence more powerful than words hung between them and an understand passed between them. His younger brother nodded and announced succinctly, "I will be there, aniki.

* * *

There was an empty seat between Tsunade and Hatake Kakashi. There were other key executives from Konoha Alliance, Itachi included, but they were there mostly for public support and recognition of Konoha Alliance's newest artist. All of the reporters in the room instantly noticed the empty seat, and their minds sprang up with one question, "Who is supposed to be sitting there?"

From his seat near the back of the room, Sasuke could barely see the face-down nameplate in front of the empty seat. Despite his position in Uchiha Corp, he hardly received the entire story and so now, he hoped that he could gain some insight into the public facades of the individuals that he would work with in the future.

The conference hadn't officially started but everyone had already arrived, save the person of the empty seat. So technically, no one was late… yet, but it looked extremely bad on the company.

The door to the right of the raised stage opened without flair. He blinked.

He had never seen such… red. Most people were red-heads, but their hair consisted of more orange than red. This person… well, this person's red hair prominently stood out among the heads of assorted colors, mainly dark colors. This guy's hair burned like flaring fire the slight breeze of the room and under the synthetic light. There was no way that this guy's hair was actually that color.

Drawing his attention away the impossibly red hair, he focused in on the young man as a whole. The guy didn't look too old; in fact, he looked like a high schooler, but probably the most flamboyant high schooler he had ever seen. Then again… the music industry of Japan rarely contained any non-flamboyant characters. Dressed in clothes akin to leather, this guy had nothing about him that spoke of normality. From the way he walked to the way he held himself, there was nothing but self-confidence.

This guy strode onto the raised stage and moved to sit in the empty seat. Hatake looked up from an orange book that he recognized, raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, and returned to his erotica. Tsunade greeted the newbie with a smile as he sat down before looking at their audience, a serious expression crossing her face.

"I apologize for the wait but let's get this thing rolling," stated Tsunade. She took a deep breath and gave the report that media wanted. "The group Tanabata has officially transferred from Akatsuki Records to Konoha Aliiance, though that point is moot. Tanabata had a contract with us before they started releasing with Akatsuki Records."

Instantly the media popped questions:

"What do you mean?"

"Did Tanabata draw a contract with Akatsuki Records?"

"How did this come about?"

Leaning into the microphone placed in front of her, Tsunade promptly halted the flood of questions. "Tanabata never had a contract with Akatsuki Records. The group Tanabata had, in fact, been kidnapped by Akatsuki Records not a day after they signed our contract."

A reporter raised his hand, and Tsunade nodded for him to ask his question. "Does this mean that the charges towards Akatsuki Records are true?"

"We do not know exactly who is involved with Tanabata's incarceration, but we intend to bring all those involved to justice," Tsunade responded carefully. Her answer was very diplomatic and held very little information on the charges themselves and those charged.

Another reporter stood up when the noise receded slightly. "Tsunade-sama, we have all been curious, but would you please introduce your associate next to you?"

Tsunade blinked with slight surprise before turning her head to look at her red-haired associate. "This guy?" A sly smile crept upon her face, and Sasuke had the sudden urge to shiver and back away. One thing he hated just as much as fangirls were sadistic women.

The redhead, to the media's surprise, leaned forward to speak into the microphone to speak in a sultry tone. "You could have asked me yourself if you were so curious." The guy shifted his arm to rest his chin on his hand, giving the audience a smile that should be given in intimate situations. His half-mast red eyes with catlike slits for pupils darkened with forbidden knowledge (that Sasuke was sure were just contacts), and the three whisker-like marks across each cheek seemed to thicken imperceptibly, a bestial impression with the promise of extreme pleasure.

People in the audience visibly stiffened as the tension in the air suddenly thickened with sexual overtures, and several of them started shifting uncomfortably.

Abruptly, the guy laughed, dispersing the previous heavy air. He grinned, two slightly sharper pair of canines peaking out. "You, and the rest of the world, can call me Kyuubi." He flipped the face-down nameplate sitting in front of him, and sure enough the nameplate said, "KYUUBI."

After a brief silence from the reporters, the noise resumed again with the flashing cameras and questions. "Kyuubi-san, just what exactly is your relation to this press conference? Are you a member of Tanabata or Konoha Alliance?"

Kyuubi laughed again, but contrary to his actions, the mood in the room darkened and everyone could feel it. His smile became even more feral as he contemplated on how to answer. "A member of Tanabata? Are you kidding me? You think I'm just a member?"

The reporters didn't ask questions for once, highly confused and stunned by the questions. The television cameras kept on rolling and shooting, capturing all of the mysterious character's reactions.

"I am TANABATA!" Kyuubi roared.

Instantly, the crowd was in chaos

"What do you mean 'I am Tanabata'?"

"How is that possible when there are conclusively at least two members?"

"There's a female member!"

"Were you really kidnapped?"

"Minna-san," Tsunade forcibly spoke into the microphone. Instantly, the noise in the room subsided. "Kyuubi-san," she said with a pointed look in Kyuubi's direction, "will answer all your answers, so please conduct yourselves in a calm and rational manner."

Another silence overcame the audience, a red hue staining their faces, and embarrassed shifting rippled throughout the room. Finally, a female reporter stood up and asked, "Kyuubi-san, in Tanabata's songs, the public has heard both a female and a male voice. How can you be Tanabata when there is no female?"

"How do you know I'm a guy?"

Everyone blinked.

_WHAT?_

The same reporter stuttered with an incredulous look on her face, "E-excuse me? You certainly look like a guy to me."

"Are you sure?"

It took some time for most of the media to get exactly what was happening, but Sasuke could hear the difference from the back of the room. Kyuubi's voice had changed… from a guy's voice… to a freaking girl's!

An astounded member of the media shouted out, "You're a GIRL?"

Kyuubi raised a delicate eyebrow and shifted, his… her… its back straightening, mere posture changing the entire feel of this… person. "You think I'm a girl?" It was the guy voice.

"Kyuubi-san," interrupted Tsunade with a stern glare in the redhead's direction, "please answer their questions."

Pouting, Kyuubi replied loud enough for the microphones to pick up his words, "You ruin all my fun, baa-chan."

A tick flashed into existence as Tsunade smiled brightly. She leaned into the microphone, "Kyuubi-san can imitate a range of voices, from a male bass to a female soprano. Even I have trouble recognizing who is speaking when Kyuubi-san calls."

This answer apparently appeased the audience, but it still left the question of whether Kyuubi was a boy or a girl. With Kyuubi's long hair and delicate figure, he… she… it could pass for a girl, but at the same time, there wasn't anything he could distinctly point out as masculine. The long hair and delicate figure could be eliminated as female factors since Kyuubi could have just been a delicate-looking male.

"Is that even possible?"

Most of the audience turned to look at a skeptical reporter. The man stood up with a frown. "To have that great of a vocal range and to manipulate sounds to that extent, no human can do that."

"Are you sure?"

Again, the audience gaped. For the past several statements, Kyuubi had been changing voices so no voice was alike, whether it was male or female. To be presented evidence as damning as this halted all the doubts resting in the minds of the media; some were even wondering exactly how they could transcribe the vocal changes onto paper; after all, hearing was believing.

Tsunade cut in, sure that the audience would allow her to speak. "Kyuubi-san has been out of incarceration for two months and is currently receiving therapy. While receiving therapy, Kyuubi-san will be disbanding Tanabata—"

"What?"

"Does this mean that Konoha Alliance will not be producing Kyuubi-san's music?"

"Where will this leave the company?"

"Excuse me," interrupted Kyuubi, once again using a female voice. Immediately the audience shut up. With a ferocious grin, he…she… it said, "I will be disbanding Tanabata indefinitely and starting a new band."

One reporter had the decency to get up to ask his question. "What part will you be playing in this new band, Kyuubi-san?"

"I hope to do the vocals and perhaps play the part of guitar, but I most assuredly will be doing composition. During my time with Akatsuki Records, I have been able to compose about fifty or sixty songs besides the ones composed as Tanabata. I hope to produce these songs for the public; music was my life for an entire two years, and I hope that I can extend my feelings to my fans."

The mood of the group lightened as the lighthearted words warmed their hearts; inwardly, Sasuke sneered at the obvious manipulation of the media. Such displays of manipulations were below him, and how Konoha Alliance, his parent company, was willing to condone this sickened him.

"Who else is participating in this project?"

Kyuubi leaned in and gave another brilliant smile. "I actually haven't asked…" Kyuubi abruptly stopped talking, which immediately caught the attention of the other individuals sitting at the press table. The singer had a look of stunned confusion, blinking slowly yet calmly, as if a sudden revelation didn't make sense.

The red eyes of the singer bore right through the audience, but he knew what the singer saw.

Kyuubi raised a finger and pointed. "You… I want you to be in my new band."

All eyes looked in the direction of the pointing finger, and he cursed. Everyone was looking at Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Wow… this is the first time I've ever written a modern-day Naruto fanfiction, and this came as a surprise when the infernal plot bunnies started hopping. I'm hoping that you like this. I'm not going to make this long; I hope to be finishing the next chapter of New Future of the Legends within the next couple of days, and by the end of this month, I'll have finished 2 chapters of it. I've already finished the outlines for the next two chapters of New Future, but this fanfiction will be like… a… I don't know actually… I'm writing this as I go. There's an actual plot, but I want to focus in on the music and the possible romance build up.

This is my first romance fic, so please be nice? This is my first SasuNaru, my first fem!Naru, my first modern-day Naruto fanfic, first band!AU… a lot of firsts… Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this installment of Metamorphosis.

Please review!


	2. Chapter 1

**Title**: Metamorphosis**  
Author**: Nakora-chan**  
Series**: Naruto**  
Rating**: T**  
Pairings**: Sasuke x fem!Naruto**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or any songs whose lyrics are used in this fanfiction.**  
Summary**: For two years, the group Tanabata ruled the music industry only to mysteriously transfer before their label Akatsuki Records was charged with kidnapping and extortion. A blonde suddenly transfers into Sasuke's class, and Kyuubi takes the music world by storm.**  
Warnings**: fem!Naruto, genderbender

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_Chapter One_

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Sasuke walked into the classroom casually, trying not to draw attention to his entrance. Without any visible signs, he mentally cursed any deities watching him in his situation.

After the press conference yesterday, the media had immediately bombarded him with questions and not even his patented glares could get him out of the situation. Once security came in and order returned to the room, the press flooded Kyuubi with questions, such as why he chose someone like him, who else, and what plans were in store. Just as the press conference was beginning to wind down from the hype, he hightailed it out of the building.

He fled straight back home, still trying to keep his cool, but the moment that he got home, Itachi stood there in the doorway and raised an eyebrow at him. He rushed past his older brother to his room, just to get away from the prying eyes of the other people in the household.

Itachi hadn't said a word to him since before the conference, but the looks were more than enough throughout breakfast and on his way out.

As he walked to school, people constantly gave him looks, trying to keep the looks covert, but they all kept on blatantly staring. He was hard pressed not to curse them out for their stares. Hell, his classmates couldn't their whispers to a down low.

He sat down in his seat, on the last row near the windows, second to last in the row. There were few people in the room since it was so early in the morning, but the few people that were there kept staring and whispering.

It didn't take long before more people walked into the room, gossiping and laughing only to stop when they saw Sasuke already in the room. Immediately, they started acting like the rest of the idiotic people in the room. Everyone in the room did that, but what scared and annoyed him the most were the… fangirls…

"Sasuke-kun!"

He winced when a pink head shoved itself in front of him.

Haruno Sakura, one of his top stalkers, sat to his right in class, and although he admitted that she was one of the smartest people in the grade, she didn't think about anything else but… well, him. He wondered just how the girl studied when… he… was the only thing on her mind almost all the time.

With a sickeningly bright smile, she asked, "Ne, Sasuke-kun, why didn't you tell us that you're starting a band with Kyuubi-sama?"

He didn't say anything; he ignored her.

"Baka Big-Forehead, why would Sasuke-kun tell _you_?"

He winced again when a blonde head pushed the pink head aside.

Yamanaka Ino, another of his top stalkers, sat thankfully on the other side of the room, and although she wasn't as smart as Sakura, she ranked just as high as Sakura since Ino did much better in P.E. than Sakura. This girl, he knew, didn't think about… him… just as much as Sakura did because she helped out with her family floral shop.

"I wasn't talking to you, Ino-buta!"

"What did you call me, Big-Forehead?"

"You heard me!"

"QUIET!"

Everyone looked up to see their homeroom teacher, Umino Iruka, walk in with a small scowl set on his face.

Sasuke frowned. Iruka usually had a deeper scowl set in his face this early in the day if his… stalkers started bickering in class; Iruka looked… happy.

A collective groan rang throughout the room while everyone reluctantly sat down in their seats. Iruka made quick work of going through roll call, as he usually did, but he did it today with an unusual enthusiasm. Setting down his attendance roster, he smiled benignly at the class, "Today, we have a transfer student joining us, and I expect everyone to treat her well." He turned towards the door and called out, "Come in."

The door slid open, and in walked a blonde.

The blonde crossed the doorway, and a collective silence held the room. She walked in and stood by the teacher's podium; she held herself demurely and politely. She seemed shy with her hair covering almost all of her face; no one could make out any of her features. She had a good physique and looked to be in better shape than most of the people in the room.

Iruka wrote her name on the chalkboard in the front of the room and told the class, "Everyone, this is Uzumaki Naru. Be nice to her."

"Hai!" the students responded excitedly, all eager to meet the blonde.

Looking at Naru, Iruka asked politely, "Would you like to say anything to your classmates, Uzumaki-san?"

Everyone leaned in, their faces bright waiting for what the pretty blonde had to say.

"I'M UZUMAKI NARU, YOU STUPID BASTARDS, AND I'VE COME TO COLLECT YOUR GOD-DAMNED SOULS!"

Everyone blinked.

_WHAT THE HELL?_

"Uzumaki-san!"

Her legs spread apart, her arms crossed over her chest, an arrogant and cocky look on her face, she looked at Iruka and demanded, "What? You asked me if I had anything to say to them, and I told them."

Iruka closed his eyes and made a really ugly face as he fumed silently.

"You know, Iruka-sensei, you make a really ugly face when you're mad."

"Just go sit down!"

Naru blinked and pointed out, "But you haven't told me where to sit."

Again, Iruka closed his eyes and pursed his lips, trying not to make another ugly face for the blonde to make fun of. Calming himself, he looked around the room and told her, "You can sit in the empty seat behind Uchiha-san."

Naru blinked again and tilted her head in confusion before asking, "Who's that?"

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By the time that lunch came around, Uzumaki Naru had unexpectedly surprised everyone… in other words, she had officially pissed everyone off.

Whenever anyone had tried to talk to her, she called them names, teacher and student alike; but she was smart. Despite her trashy talk and vulgar way of speaking, she knew what she was talking about whenever she had to get up to answer questions.

Because he sat in front of her, Sasuke noticed that she had slept through all of Math, noted by her snoring, and she was doing god-knows-what during English. From the quick glance that he spared the blonde during the period, he nearly blanched at the sight of so many notebooks spread across her desk, and she wrote furiously in all of them, despite how sporadically she did it.

When the lunch bell rang, he stood up and walked out of the classroom as soon as he heard the squeals of fangirls following him down to the cafeteria and he sure did not want to commit mass homicide before he graduated from high school.

"Is Uzumaki Naru here?"

Sasuke turned to look at the person asking, and recognized the guy to be Inuzuka Kiba, star player on the basketball team. He briefly wondered why the Inuzuka asked for the blonde. Without a word, he nodded in the direction of the blonde still at her desk and still feverishly scratching in those many notebooks on her desk.

From what he had seen of the basketball player, Kiba's face always seemed to be tight and even though the guy laughed brightly with his friends and his teammates, he noticed that his smile never reached his eyes.

Kiba's sharp eyes, slit like cat's, searched the room before spotting the golden blonde hair seated in the last seat in the row nearest the windows. His face visibly softened, losing all the tightness, and then he smiled, a real smile. "Yo, Naru!"

Naru, whipping her waist-length golden hair aside, looked up, her sparkling blue eyes searching around trying to locate the person to match the voice. Her eyes landed upon Kiba, and a great grin dawned on her face. She called out, "Hey, dog-shit!"

At that point, Sasuke felt that his presence had just become a nuisance and walked in the direction of the cafeteria, wondering just who Uzumaki Naru was.

Kiba, on the other hand, leaned on the doorway waiting for the blonde to gather all her notebooks she had scattered on her desk. She gathered them all in one arm while taking her bento in the other hand from out of her desk; trotting over to him, she kept grinning. "Let's go. Tell me what everyone's been doing while I was gone."

The animalistic-looking brunette frowned lightly, and his eyes turned away guiltily.

Naru looked at Kiba in surprise, her eyes wide Kiba's expression, and her expression softened, her eyes understanding and her smile gentle. "Don't worry about it, dog-shit. You just owe me ramen for life."

Kiba stared at her, then guffawed.

The gentle smile became bright once more, and with the arm with the bento in hand, she linked arms and dragged him off. "You can take me to cafeteria and tell me all about it."

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Sasuke closed his eyes, and briefly wondered if he could claim self-defense for mass murder. He mentally groaned; this was the second time that day that he had contemplated mass murder… what was next? The whisperings and not-so-discreet looks grated on his nerves more than ever, and he wondered what he should do about them.

Suddenly, the whisperings and looks turned away from him, and he immediately noticed. Glancing around, he also looked in the direction where everyone else was looking.

Uzumaki Naru and Inuzuka Kiba had just walked in. Naru had several notebooks in one arm and a bento box held in her other hand, her face bright and smiling; Kiba, on the other hand, had stuffed his hands in his pockets, his stance casual, but the guy kept on growling and snarling at anyone who looked at Naru the wrong way. The guy could have possibly been Naru's boyfriend, but he didn't act like it. In fact, he acted like an overprotective older brother more than a jealous boyfriend.

The duo didn't stand in line for long since only Kiba bought some melon bread. They moved around until they sat down at an empty table suspiciously near him; in fact there were several empty tables around him, but they chose the closest one.

Sitting in front of Kiba, she dumped her notebooks on the table and pushed them towards the other.

Kiba, taking a bite out of his melon bread, opened all of the notebooks and started reading whatever was on the paper with an alarming rate. His eyes widened. Sticking the bread into his mouth, he brushed his other hand clean on his pants and started turning pages with it. His face spoke of shock as he kept on turning pages; if his mouth wasn't full, it would have dropped in awe.

After a while, he started stuffing his face with melon bread again while more slowing turning pages. He looked completely immersed with whatever Naru had written in the notebooks, but closed his eyes tight when he finished his melon bread. He forced himself to close the notebooks, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get away from them for the rest of lunch, and he wanted to spend as much time as he could with Naru before the end of the school day.

Leaning back in his chair, Kiba smiled and told Naru, "You are amazing; you know that?"

Naru returned with a playful grin, "I know. That's why I'm me, and you're you."

The brunette barked a laugh before tapping one of the notebooks with his knuckles. His face was bright but the look in his eyes spoke of more serious matters. "Who's going to play this part?"

Having opened and started eating her bento while Kiba looked over her notebooks, she paused with her chopsticks halfway between her food and her mouth. With her other hand, she scratched her cheek while smiling nervously and responded half-heartedly, "I hoped that you would recommend someone."

Kiba sighed in exasperation, but didn't look upset by the blonde's revelation. "I'll look for someone, but I can't guarantee you I'll find someone. If I were you, I'd be asking Shikamaru for help."

"How's Shikamaru been doing?"

The guy looked at her with confusion before smiling. "Why don't you find out for yourself?"

Naru pouted and whined, "At least, let me finish my ramen!"

"You brought ramen as a bento?" exclaimed Kiba as he leaned forward trying to peer at her packed bento, and sure enough, she had ramen for lunch. "You sure are weird, woman—OW! What'd you do that for?"

The blonde didn't reply, just responded by quickly slurping up the rest of her ramen. Efficiently, she packed up the empty container and gathered up her notebooks lying askew in front of her friend. She looked at Kiba with a grin, "C'mon. I want to see Shikamaru, and maybe Hinata-chan will be there."

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As Kiba led them towards wherever they were headed, Naru became quiet and she only did this when her mind wandered off, and he certainly knew what she was suddenly thinking about. He leaned on the doorframe of the classroom of Class 3-B with Naru standing right beside him though not so deep in her trance. Searching the room and spotting the people he was searching for, he called out, "Shikamaru! Hinata! Look at who's here!"

Both of them turned when they heard Kiba yell out their names, and their gazes focusing on Kiba in the doorway, their eyes automatically fell upon the blonde beside Kiba.

"Naru!"

Shikamaru and Hinata nearly knocked their chairs back with their surprise, and almost jumped out of their seats to reach Naru.

The blonde girl with a smile pulled the two in a deep hug, burying her face between them. She stayed like this for a long time, and they let her. They needed this as much as she did.

Finally, she pulled back and looked at them in their faces. With watering eyes and a truly happy smile, she said, "Tadaima."

Hinata returned the smile shyly. "Okaeri." Taking Naru's hand into both of hers, she pulled the blonde towards their little lunch group. She dragged her friend over to a group of four desks, two people sitting there and looking on at the events taking place.

Shikamaru grabbed chairs nearby, depriving other people of their seats for a while, to accommodate Naru and Kiba, who sat down on each side of the group of desks pushed together. Surprisingly, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Kiba only sat down after Naru did, though one could barely tell since the time difference was so small.

Glancing at the two people sitting across Shikamaru and Hinata, Kiba gestured over to them. "Oh, Naru, this is Akimichi Chouji and Aburame Shino. Chouji, Shino, this is Uzumaki Naru."

Naru bowed lightly and said, "Yoroshiku onegai shimasu."

Both Chouji and Shino bowed in return, but only Chouji responded, "Nice to meet you, too."

A large grin appeared on her facel, and she asked, "Your family owns Akimichi Restaurant and Grill, don't they?"

The "big-boned" guy mirrored her smile and nodded enthusiastically. "Wow, it usually takes people a while to figure that out. How could you tell?"

"I have my ways," responded Naru, her face effectively hiding her secrets. She then looked at Shino and tilted her head side to side, as if deciding on something. "You… do you know Aburame Shibi?"

Shino, who wore dark sunglasses that covered his eyes very well and a dark-colored tuque (Naru didn't know if that was against school policy here, but apparently Shino got away with it), gave a nodded and gave a succinct answer, "He's my father."

Still grinning widely, she informed him, "I thought so. Your father's research in entomology has greatly helped Konoha Alliance and Hyuuga Industries' manufacturing."

"How do you know that?"

Naru promptly pointed at Hinata, who ducked her head and blushed a fierce red. "She told me." Waiting for a sound of understanding and not getting one, she explained, "Hinata-chan, here, is the heir to Hyuuga Industries."

With Shino nodding in understanding finally, Naru noted that Chouji didn't seem surprised, "You don't look surprised, Chouji?"

Chouji, only slightly and inwardly surprised by the informal way the blond treated him, replied, "Hinata-san eats at my family's restaurants whenever there's a big business dinner or formal event."

Naru frowned and was about to say something when she glanced in Shikamaru and Kiba's direction. The two gave her a warning look that she immediately understood despite wanting to keep up the conversation. There were some things that just couldn't be said regardless of the circumstances, and what she was about to say was one of the things that she should never say in public.

Shino noticed the tense atmosphere as soon as it appeared in the conversation. He wondered why it appeared, but he knew it had to deal with the circumstances around Uzumaki Naru. He certainly heard the gossip that floated around this morning about the blonde female transfer student; he was certainly surprised by her sudden appearance in their classroom with Inuzuka Kiba in tow.

He did not know that Kiba was good friends with Shikamaru or Hinata until today; in fact, it seemed as if the Inuzuka had kept his distance from the two for the entire time they had been in high school. Neither Shikamaru nor Hinata had made a move toward Kiba during the two years during high school, though that could be attributed to the fact that Kiba wasn't in their class

He had been watching all the students in their grade, and kept careful notes about each of them in case something happened that might help his situation, though he had no situation that his information might help. To his knowledge, Kiba hadn't talked to Shikamaru or Hinata until today.

It was something similar to the case with Shikamaru and Hinata. In freshman year, Shikamaru had been in a different class and hadn't shown that he knew anyone from any other class, but once he joined his and Hinata's class back in sophomore year, Shikamaru and Hinata had stuck together like glue, some strange force pulling them together. And now, Kiba joined the like. Shino wondered just how this happened, since he doubted that the three had anything to do together afterschool.

But with the introduction with this new character, Uzumaki Naru, Shino had wondered about the bond that joined these four.

All of the sudden, Naru straightened up and looked at all of them with a smile different from her regular grin. "I have something to show you!" She got up from her seat, moving the chair back to its previous place, and grabbed her pile of notebooks. She caught her friends' eyes and something passed between the four of them that only they could understand.

Shikamaru got up from his seat and mumbled, "Too troublesome."

------------------------------------------------------------

They all reached the music room, which surprised both Chouji and Shino, who never expected the blonde or rather Kiba to lead them there. Naru apparently wasn't good with directions, so Kiba led them to the music room without even asking Naru if that was their destination. Seemingly, Kiba knew Naru well enough that he automatically expected her to go to the music room.

Sliding the door open a bit, Naru poked her head inside to see if anyone was inside before sliding the door the rest of the way. She bounced into the room, her mood immediately perking up once nearing the instruments in the room. Coming to a decision, she sat down at the piano and played a few notes, checking the tuning.

"What are you going to play, Naru-chan?"

Naru blinked and turned back to the group, surprise on her face. She flushed and raised a hand to scratch the back of her head, "Sorry. I forgot that you were there."

Kiba sighed and crashed onto one of the seats in the room. "You always do that, Naru. It couldn't hurt you to remember that we exist."

"Hey! I just get carried away!"

Shikamaru, already in the seat next to Kiba, slouched and crossed his arms across his chest. He grumbled out as his eyelids started falling down, "Troublesome woman."

Hinata gracefully took the seat on the other side of Kiba and repeated quietly, "What are you going to play, Naru-chan?"

Naru's attention turned to Hinata and the blonde grinned. "Final Distance."

"Final Distance? I've never heard of it," mused Chouji.

"Probably because it doesn't exist."

"Huh?"

The blonde didn't respond, her attention already fully focused on the piano in front of her. Her expression completely changed, a totally different person sitting in Naru's place, the serious look on her face not matching the blonde at all. Her back unexpected straighted, her posture fitting that of a born pianist, she closed her eyes and started.

"_Ki ni naru noni kikenai_ (I'm anxious, but I can't say anything)  
_Oyogitsukarete kimi made mukuchi ni naru_ (I'm tired of swimming, even you've become silent)

_Aitai noni mienai name ni osarete_ (I want to see you, but an invisible wave pushes us)  
_Mata sukoshi tooku naru_ (Again, just a little more distance)

_Togirenai you ni keep it going baby _(Try not to stop, keep it going, baby)  
_Onaji kimochi janai nara tell me_ (If you don't feel the same, then tell me)  
_Muri wa shinai shugi demo _(Even if your principle is to not try)  
_Sukoshi nara shite mite mo ii yo _(It's alright to try a little)

_I wanna be with you now _  
_Futari de distance chijimete_ (Let's shorten the distance with the two of us)  
_Ima nara maniau kara _(We can still make it on time)  
_We can start over  
Hitotsu ni wa narenai _(We can't be as one)

_I wanna be with you now  
Itsu no hi ka distance mo _(Someday, even this distance)  
_Dakishimerareru you ni nareru yo_ (We'll be able to embrace)  
_We can start sooner_  
_Yappari I wanna be with you_ (After all, I wanna be with you)

_Hito koto de konna ni mo kizutsuku kimi wa_ (You, who gets hurt with a single word)  
_Kodoku wo oshiete kureru_ (taught me what loneliness is)

_Momorenai toki keep on trying, baby_ (When you can't protect me, keep on trying, baby)  
_Yakusoku doori janai kedo trust me _(It's not as I promised but trust me)  
_Muri wa shinai shugi demo_ (My principle is to not try but)  
_Kimi to nara shite mite mo ii yo_ (I would do it for you)

_I wanna be with you now  
Futari de distance mistumete _ (Look at our distance with the two of us)  
_Ima nara maniau kara_ (We can still make it)  
_We can start over_  
_Kotoba de tsutaetai_ (I want to tell you with words)

_I wanna be with you now  
Sono uchi ni distance mou _ (One day, even the distance)  
_Dakishimerareru you ni nareru yo_ (I'll be able to embrace)  
_We should stay together  
Yappari I need to be with you... _(After all, I need to be with you…)"

As the music drifted off, something lingered.

Hinata sniffled, tears trailing down from her silver eyes down her cheeks, and she tried to regain her composure. The song reminded her of the two years, the long two years that her best friend was gone from her life. For those two years, she knew nothing of Naru's whereabouts, and Naru hadn't even told her or anyone she knew where the blonde had gone off to. She worried for two long years, everyday bringing on a new pain and sorrow. This song was for them; this was Naru's apology to them for their pain.

Shikamaru leaned his head back once he heard the verse and closed his eyes. He didn't want to hear this; these were words that he didn't need to hear. These words only reminded him of his failure in this friend's life. He knew what happened to her, and though she might deny it, he felt that it was partly his fault. Why hadn't he paid more attention to the world around? If he had, she wouldn't have suffered as long as she did. This song was the forgiveness she gave him for his mistakes.

Kiba scowled and had looked away in the middle of the song; he knew the true meaning of this song, moreso than he felt Hinata or Shikamaru knew. He had known from the beginning, and there was nothing that he could do about it. There was nothing he could have done to help Naru despite all his boasts and whatnot. He failed, and the moment he had done so, despair set in. Naru knew this; she knew that all of it pained him. This song was to sooth away those pains, those aches; this was Naru's compassion.

Not understanding the feelings that overwhelmed their friends, Shino and Chouji clapped politely hearing such a moving piece.

Naru turned towards them, her face bright and smiling, a hand scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "Domo. It's not much, but I hoped you like it."

Wiping her face of the tears on her cheeks, Hinata smiled in return and said, "It was great. You haven't changed at all in two years, Naru-chan."

"Thanks, Hinata-chan. I was a bit scared that my style changed a lot, but I'm glad it hasn't."

"Damn it, I'll do it!"

Everyone in the room looked at Kiba, who wore a resolute face. "Damn it, I'll quit the basketball team!"

All of them gaped, jaws dropping, eyes wide with surprise. Kiba loved basketball; why did he all of the sudden decide to quit?

The blonde frowned at his canine-like friend. "I didn't play that song for you to do something for me."

"I'm not doing it for you, woman. I'm doing it for myself," argued Kiba, his face forming a small snarl, getting a bit defensive about his sudden reasons for his change. "Your actions don't affect me. I decide my own life, and quitting the basketball team is the only way I can go to do what I truly love."

Her eyes searching his face for a moment, she grinned. "You do that, dog-shit."

"Bitch!"

------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Notes**: So I'm finally done with the second chapter of Metamorphosis after several months. I thought I'd be doing this fanfiction on a weekly basis, but apparently with all my exams and homework, I can barely work on this and New Future. I'm currently working on the next chapter of New Future, so New Future fans, don't worry, it'll be out soon.

Oh, I'll be going to Hong Kong for two weeks during between December and January, so I probably won't have that much time to write (like I had much time with my classes). Anyway, onto notes about this chapter:

Japanese school system: I don't live in Japan, so I don't know how the school system is like there and I'm basing the entire fanfiction upon the tidbits I pick up from watching anime and the like. I've done a bit of research so I know that students go to school Monday through Saturday (Saturday being a half-day). There's elementary school going from (1 to 6), middle school (7 to 9), and high school (10 to 12) . For more information, you can go search Wikipedia.

Tadaima: I'm home

Okaeri (short for Okaerinasai): Welcome back.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu: Nice to meet you

The song "Final Distance" is Utada Hikaru's 8th Japanese-language single. The reason why I chose this song compared to other songs is because most of the harmony of this song comprises of piano, which as described in the story, is in the music room, and there usually always is a piano in a music room. With this in mind, I had to choose a piano or acoustic piece (a guitar may have been in the room); going through my list of Japanese music, I narrowed my list down to songs sung by female singers. To further narrow it down, I had to look at the lyrics of the songs and how I could relate the lyrics to the story. Final Distance puts a nice feel to the story and helps clear up some of Naru's feelings about the two years she spent away (not going to say anymore).

If anyone doesn't like this style, please review and tell me so. Usually, I hate to see the format and style of my story like this, but this was the best I could make do with.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 2

**Title**: Metamorphosis**  
Author**: Nakora-chan**  
Series**: Naruto**  
Rating**: T**  
Pairings**: Sasuke x fem!Naruto**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or any songs whose lyrics are used in this fanfiction.**  
Summary**: For two years, the group Tanabata ruled the music industry only to mysteriously transfer before their label Akatsuki Records was charged with kidnapping and extortion. A blonde suddenly transfers into Sasuke's class, and Kyuubi takes the music world by storm.**  
Warnings**: fem!Naruto, genderbender

* * *

_Chapter Two_

* * *

After hearing that emotional performance done by the new transfer student, Sasuke walked away from the music room. It wasn't his fault that the door wasn't closed fully and that he could still hear the echoes of her voice and the piano throughout the hallway. If he was truly the star student that everyone saw him to be, he would have told them a teacher about their inappropriate usage of the music room, but he was curious.

He was a naturally curious creature, something that Itachi constantly berated him for, not that he could help it. When he had heard her singing and the piano accompaniment, he stood outside of the room listening to sobs of his peers, and as he listened to her music, his chest throbbed momentarily in pain. But before he could explore what it meant, it went away.

Walking away from the music room, Sasuke wondered how so many people affiliated with the Konoha Alliance stood by the new transfer. With the acquaintance of Hyuuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, and Inuzuka Kiba, he could almost immediately conclude that Uzumaki Naru had some high-up connections with the large conglomerate.

Firmly believing in not assuming anything about anything, he pushed aside his last thought and decided that with the lunch hour almost over, he might as well return to the classroom.

"Sasuke-kun!"

His insides froze. He dared not turn his head.

"Sasuke-kun!"

He walked faster.

"Sasuke-kun, matte!"

With a great sigh, he turned around to see a slightly panting pink-haired fangirl. He vaguely remembered her from the morning, and even though he had gotten her surname right in the morning, he already forgotten what he had guessed so he resorted to not saying her name at all.

The pink-haired airhead smiled prettily at him, and he suppressed a shudder. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, are you heading back to class?"

He didn't offer an answer. In any case, he was screwed.

"Do you mind if I walk with you back?"

At that point, he resigned himself to his fate. Just as he was about to step off with a rabid fangirl in his wake, a new voice stopped him.

"Yo, Uchiha."

Looking around, his eyes unexpectedly met up with those of Inuzuka Kiba. He hadn't heard the basketball star's footsteps, since he was quite preoccupied with his thoughts of despair regarding fangirls. To alleviate his embarrassment, he didn't offer a response.

A stifling silence surrounded them and when the Inuzuka realized that the other wouldn't respond, the brunette said, "Tsunade-sama needs you to head over to the K.A. building after school Saturday so she can discuss your contract and band meeting times."

Sasuke eyed Kiba and remembered just how much a servant both of them were to the Konoha Alliance.

The Konoha Alliance, the biggest conglomerate in Japan, was headed by a very small family, the Senju, but encompassed companies of much larger families, such as Uchiha Corporations and Hyuuga Industries. Many, if not most, of the companies under the Konoha Alliance name could have become independent, but surprisingly, the leaders of these companies avidly and strong protest any intent of declaring independence.

He, himself, was surprised when after his parents died and Itachi became president of Uchiha Corporations that Uchiha Corporations still did not become independent of the parent company.

Kiba's situation differed from his. The Inuzuka family was retainers for the Senju family, and had been for centuries, dating back to feudal Japan. Essentially, the Inuzuka clan provided bodyguards for the Senju family.

Despite the closeness that the all the families shared, Sasuke surprisingly did not know the name of the person Kiba was supposedly guarding, the heir of the Senju, the next president of the Konoha Alliance. From his knowledge of the Inuzuka-Senju tradition, an Inuzuka would be assigned a Senju at birth to guard for the rest of his or her life, and more often than not, in the past, there would be more than one Inuzuka guarding just one Senju.

Yet, the Third Great War had wiped out the majority of both clans, leaving only one Inuzuka to guard a Senju.

Kiba, as the heir to the Inuzuka family, was entitled from birth to protect the heir of the Senju, who still remained unknown to the public.

Sasuke wondered just how much this elaborate scheme came from the brains of the CEO of the Konoha Alliance. He nodded his response to the other male, and walked away, hoping that this time he could actually get away alone.

"Sasuke-kun!"

'_That plan failed_,' admitted Sasuke despairingly.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, who's Tsunade-sama?

He hoped for some mercy from any deity out there.

------

Saturday couldn't come any faster. Between the constant nagging of his fangirls and his obvious evasive maneuvers from Itachi, he could hardly catch his breath.

Getting into the Konoha Alliance building wasn't hard, as he was the heir to Uchiha Corporations. He had been to the building for more times than he could count in his life since his family's company building wasn't that far and he had, as a child, delivered files between the two buildings.

Walking down the hall to the meeting room where the receptionist had told him the meeting was going to be held, he noted the absence of people in the hallways. In other hallways of the 99-story building, there were always signs of life, figures racing up and down the hallways, doors almost always open; but this hallway lacked the usual luster of the lively building.

He doubted that this incident was pure coincidence, but let the subject float into the back of his mind.

Suddenly, a door opened several doors down and someone stepped out into the hallway. Long dark red spiked hair, that didn't flare out like his hair did, topped a person shorter than him, with whisker-like scars marring each cheek.

He blinked, trying to keep his surprise off his face. This was Kyuubi?

Kyuubi wore a black pinstriped dress shirt, a bit of smooth cream-color skin peaking out of the v of the shirt, with black slacks with gold-colored embroidery. There probably was a matching jacket for those pants, but… Kyuubi looked… nice.

Sasuke would not lower himself to say that this she-man (still can't tell whether he is really a guy or a girl) was hot; he could appreciate aesthetics, and if asked, he would reply with a "Nice" but that would be all.

"Kyuubi, get back in here! We need to talk—"

Behind Kyuubi came Tsunade, standing nearly half a head taller than the redhead. The last time he had seen the Konoha Alliance president up close was at a conference held at the Uchiha Corporations building several months ago. He noticed that she looked younger than last time.

Kyuubi spun around to face the president and replied loudly and forcefully, "I'm fine. You saw those music scores; my music is fine!"

"I'm not talking about your music, Kyuubi! Your health is not your music!"

At that point, the two had noticed his presence. None of them said anything.

Sensing this was the perfect moment to escape the K.A. president, Kyuubi started walking off. "I'll send you the scores for the next few ones I wrote up today."

"Damn it, Kyuubi! Get back here! I'm not done with you!"

But Kyuubi didn't come back.

Tsunade sighed and turned to look at Sasuke, noticing his blank expression, a sign of an Uchiha. She furrowed her eyebrows, wrinkles suddenly appearing on her forward. "Come on in, Uchiha," she gestured for him to enter her office.

He followed her into her spacious office, an office that looked extremely normal. He half-expected Senju Tsunade's office to be cluttered with various knick-knacks from all over the world that she got during her travels before succeeding the Sandaime, the previous president Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Looking around, Sasuke also fully expected the room to be drowning with paperwork that the Godaime neglected to finish; he heard about the woman's chronic laziness and about the amount of work required as president of the largest conglomerate in Japan. Yet the room was surprisingly neat, with very little mess, though he did think that this room was only a secondary office for the woman, a meeting place for people already in regular contact with Konoha Alliance.

Sitting behind the desk, she opened a drawer and pulled out a stack of papers. "This is your contract. Itachi has already negotiated most of it, so all you have to do is sign."

Taking the contract out of Tsunade's hands, Sasuke quickly started reading it. He trusted his brother had the best intentions in mind when negotiating the clauses of the contract, but the man was… strange in ways.

"What about the conditions of my leaving this band?"

Tsunade searched his face for any clue on the meaning behind his words, but didn't bring up any of her suspicions. She coolly replied, "Kyuubi offered you a position in his band. You can leave any time you wish, and he will not hold you back. Of course, the moment that you announce to the public that you're leaving, your contract terminates and the special conditions stated within the contract come into effect."

"Hn." The contract was pretty straight forward; there were no outstanding or unusual conditions that required special attention. More importantly, there were no loopholes that gave him any wiggle room. It was a standard contract, one expected from a company as grandstanding as Konoha Alliance.

Stilling reading the contract, he didn't look up at the Konoha Alliance president and asked, "Just what exactly does Kyuubi expect me to do in this band of his?"

The woman shrugged, irritating him. "How am I supposed to know? I gave Kyuubi full jurisdiction over the affairs of this project; of course, Hatake Kakashi will be handling most of it anyway."

Sasuke frowned. Hatake Kakashi produced several of the world's top artists, models, and the like, but the man was the laziest, chronically tardy dumbass alive. If the man were left to handle his own affairs, he would have been dead in the gutters within a week. Sasuke knew of Hatake Kakashi from personal experience; the man had teamed up with one of his distant cousins, Uchiha Obito during the Yondaime's reign over the Konoha Alliance.

He calmly repeated, "Hatake Kakashi will be handling the affairs of this project?"

Luckily, Tsunade understood the notion that he hinted at. "Hatake Kakashi will handle most of the affairs, but Kyuubi has been authorized veto power." Noticing that he still hadn't signed the contract or even made the motion of looking for a pen, she said, "I'll give you a week to think about your contract, but Kyuubi wants a response immediately."

Inwardly, he twitched. Kyuubi seemed to be an impatient bastard.

Standing up from her seat, she said, "While you think about this offer, how about we go see how Kyuubi's doing in the Glass Box? He should be working with his drummer right now."

Without a word, Sasuke stood up and went along behind Tsunade, his contract still in hand.

---

"Damn it, Kiba. It's supposed to go like this!"

"I am doing it like that!"

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

"Would the two of you just shut the hell up?"

Both Kyuubi and the other person in the room turned around to see Tsunade standing in the doorway with Uchiha Sasuke a little bit behind her. The two stepped into the room once sure that the arguing stopped.

Kyuubi grinned. "We were just having a discussion about the differences in our musical styles."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and droned out, "I see…" She paused before changing the subject by turning to the young man following her. "Uchiha-san wanted to see how you're doing, Kyuubi, with your project. He also probably wants to ask just what he is to this band."

The redhead leaned to the side to peer at the man in question. He blinked, "Uchiha Sasuke, right? Itachi's younger brother?"

For the briefest moment, Sasuke twitched in annoyance, but no one noticed. "Yes."

With those red eyes, Kyuubi looked him up and down, analyzing him for who-knows-what, and he felt a shiver go down his spine. There was something unnerving about this man, something that said that this man wasn't exactly a man but something more.

"He'll play the guitar."

That shook him out of the stupor that those penetrating crimson eyes left him in.

Everyone looked at Kyuubi in surprise. Tsunade repeated, slightly shocked, "He'll play the guitar?" Briefly glancing at Sasuke, she turned back to Kyuubi and asked, "How do you know he plays guitar?"

"His fingers look like guitarists' fingers," Kyuubi replied, as if that explained everything.

Both Kiba and Tsunade looked skeptical but accepted it without another word of protest. They trusted Kyuubi, seemingly, and they blindly went along with what the redhead said despite not knowing whether or not what he said was true.

But damn it, what he said was true. Sasuke knew how to play the guitar; out of all the instruments that he knew how to play, guitar was the one that he played most often, not because he liked it or anything like that, but it was the only instrument that was most handy when Itachi demanded him to play something.

"Itachi probably makes you play the guitar, right?"

Sasuke fixed his eyes on Kyuubi, surprised confusion flitting across his eyes.

Kyuubi continued on, sensing that Sasuke was probably not going to answer. "Itachi used to play, you know? He played professionally for about two years before he had to stop."

He never knew that about Itachi. His older brother never told him these things; heck he didn't know when his older brother did these things.

"This was several years ago, so you probably don't remember, but he was a really big hit back then, rode the music industry as Tengen."

Tengen, he remembered that. A solo artist under the Konoha Alliance label with the name Tengen charted #1 on Oricon with his very first single. He was around six or seven at the time, and he had asked Itachi to get that single. Itachi had chuckled, something that rarely happened nowadays, and handed him the CD on the spot. Back then, he thought it was magic and that Itachi could make thing appear out of thin air, but now it all made sense.

With a fond smile, Tsunade added in her two cents, "I remember that. You helped produce his works."

Kyuubi helped produce his brother's works nearly a decade ago? That made the man probably thirty at least!

Kiba laughed suddenly. "I remember when the Sandaime introduced you to him as his new producer. The look on his face was priceless!"

Sasuke inwardly frowned. Kiba was there when Itachi met Kyuubi?

At that moment, the redhead noticed something about his face that changed the focus of the conversation. "You don't know much about what goes on in Konoha Alliance, do you, Sasuke?"

He didn't say anything; there was nothing he could say, because it was true. All his life, he had focused on the Uchiha Corporations and how he support the company; he was almost always at the U.C. building, if he wasn't at home or school. He had always thought that his life was set and that he didn't have to worry about life or anything outside of what he did. But… why did he suddenly feel so small?

-----

The contract stared back at him.

The benefits didn't really matter to him. Work hours were flexible but dependent on the leader of the band, but according to Tsunade, he wouldn't have to worry too much and her word held much weight even though he wasn't one to normally believe people's word. Everything about the contract didn't hurt him in anyway.

"Still wondering if it's a good idea?"

Sasuke swiveled around in his chair to see Itachi leaning in the doorway. Itachi walked over to his bed and flopped down, probably catching a break from the endless paperwork mounting on his desk.

Out of the blue, Sasuke decided to ask, "Did you like being Tengen?"

Itachi's eyes flickered over to him for a moment. "I love music, you know that, Sasuke, but I gave up my life as Tengen for the company."

'_That doesn't tell me anything_,' thought Sasuke cynically.

"But what I can tell you is that from what I know of Kyuubi, all the band members will have to give up this project in the future," confessed Itachi, not really revealing much about Kyuubi.

Sasuke, seeing an opportunity for what it was, immediately latched on. "What do you mean 'all band members'?"

Itachi, knowing what Sasuke was doing, let him have the chance. "Inuzuka Kiba has to take up his traditional duties as a convoy for the K.A. president, and your other band mate will probably be Hyuuga Neji."

Snapping his head in his brother's direction in surprise, he demanded, "What do you mean?"

"Kyuubi has always had good relations with the Hyuuga clan, especially with Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji, since they are all around the same age. Besides, other than Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga-kun is the only one to able to discern any reason out of Kyuubi's actions."

Frowning, Sasuke admitted that he was confused. He knew that he grew up isolated from the rest of the Konoha Alliance compared to his peers, and the reason for it stemmed from his parents, moreover his father, Uchiha Fugaku. Itachi, on the other hand, had grown up half in the U.C. building and the other hand in the K.A. building so he knew more about the inner workings of K.A. better than him, but actually acknowledging all that hurt his ego.

"Besides," his brother continued, "Hyuuga-kun is a prodigy, not so much like how Kyuubi is a musical prodigy, but I bet Hyuuga-kun would play the bass, no matter if you accept Tsunade-sama's offer or not."

He scowled at his brother for openly informing him that he wasn't exactly needed with the project.

Itachi got up from the bed and headed out without another word, probably feeling that he wasn't needed anymore. Itachi had the annoying habit of knowing when his presence was need despite no foreknowledge at all, so he made the most out of it by putting it to use with Sasuke.

Sasuke knew from the start that he wasn't really needed, so it was honestly his choice if he really wanted to go through with the contract.

After all this time, he still couldn't discern how Kyuubi was able to pick him out of a crowd of reporters or even the reason for Kyuubi picking him. If he signed the contract, he would probably get the answers, but if he didn't, then he would never know.

If he didn't sign, his life wouldn't change. He would still be dodging fangirls and getting through high school. He would go to college, get a degree, and get a job at his family's company. He would work there for the rest of his life, maybe find a wife, have a few children, not inherit the company, and die a nice and quiet death.

If he didn't sign, his life would be very quiet.

The moment Kyuubi called him out in that crowd of reporters, his life became chaotic and he didn't know if he liked it.

He stared at the contract and knew that the next week would be a long one.

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**Author's Notes:** Whatever… I've finished this chapter. I had this chapter sitting in my hard drive for a while since I didn't know how to finish it. Taking it from a non-emo Sasuke viewpoint is harder since he's not depressed or out to destroy the world. I don't know the update status for the next chapter, but I'm currently working on my Harry Potter fanfiction. Since I've been getting a lot of reviews for updating New Future, I'll work on that next since I have my outlines and a general idea of what to write. Don't expect much out of the next update from me.

_matte -_ wait

Thank you for reading and please wait for the next update!


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